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D. Boon Hut Trail #209

Area Status: Open

D. Boon Hut Trail #209 leaves the Grays Arch Picnic Area along Tunnel Ridge Road. The trail descends into a deep gorge under towering cliffs. Below the cliffs are cove hardwoods with a thick rhododendron understory and other native flora.

The trail leads to a large fenced rock shelter that was once mined for saltpeter. The miners built crude wooden troughs and filled them with sandstone. They poured water through the sand to leach out potassium nitrate, an ingredient used to make gunpowder in the 1800s.

General Information

Accessibility:

This trail does not meet accessibility standards for persons with disabilities.

Directions:

Traveling east on the Mountain Parkway, take exit 33 at Slade. Turn left and then right onto KY 15; travel east 3.2 miles to Tunnel Ridge Road on the left. Follow Tunnel Ridge Road 0.7 miles to the Grays Arch Picnic Area on the right.